Bikaner’s Laxmi Adopted by Italian Couple

A Bikaner family court judge has given the go-ahead for adoption of a young Indian girl to an Italian couple. Laxmi, who was an infant when her mother died in a road accident in 2008, will move to Italy with Zerah Alberto and his wife Tartaglia Lucia after the adoption clearance.

Judge Shyam Sundar Lata gave consent for the adoption, and ordered the district birth registration office to issue a fresh birth certificate to Laxmi within five days. The court also directed the passport authorities to issue her passport within 10 days.

Lata lauded the Italian couple for their respect towards Indian people and belief in the country’s culture. “It takes quite a heart as well as dedication to adopt a child from another country,” read the order from the court, the Hindustan Times reported.

The court also noted that as per the provisions of the Hague Convention on Inter-Country adoption in 2003, this order will be applicable in Italy as well.

Authorities in Italy have already said that Laxmi will be given Italian citizenship and inheritance rights soon after her arrival in the country.

Adoption Monitored by CARA

The Italian couple hailing from Genova applied through the online portal of the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) to adopt Laxmi. The couple adopted an Indian boy from Durgapur, West Bengal, in 2011, and in their application, they expressed a desire to adopt an Indian girl.

To conduct the adoption process smoothly, the Italian couple also sought the help of Maneka Gandhi, the Union Minister for Women and Child Development.Gandhi then assured them of help, and asked Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje to speed up the adoption procedure.

CARA is a dedicated government of India body that controls and monitors both in-country and inter-country child adoptions.